Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Super 'Manoos' Sachin - Mumbai Indian\Indian Mumbaikar?

Superman Sachin – Is he for real??

Sachin Tendulkar is seriously scarey - can the man do no wrong?? He is perhaps the only icon left in India that nobody but nobody can criticize without inviting the wrath of a billion people. What is there not to like about a guy who appears to be perfect in all respects? As a sportsman, he has no equal. As a family man, his conduct has been exemplary. His charmingly reticent wife, Anjali’s delightful interview in the TOI, said it all. As a son, the whole cricketing world watches him looking skywards to pay a silent tribute to his late father. As a father himself, he is around his kids on a priority basis…. whenever he himself is around, which is not often.As a friend… well…. if one forgets Vinod Kambli’s tiny squeak of protest, he has his loyalists. As a team member, he says he has always batted for India not for himself. As a sought- after model, he has made a lot of companies very wealthy by endorsing their products over the years . And as a living legend, he is acutely aware of the responsibilities that go with such a lofty position and discharges them with dignity. If anything, Sachin is too good to be true! He never loses his shirt – literally or metaphorically ( unlike Ganguly). He remains almost unnaturally cool under annoying circumstances ( early or unfair dismissals). His memory is elephantine (apparently, he can recall every ball ). He doesn’t get provoked, no matter what. He is super careful with his words ( impossible to catch this guy off- guard). He is unfailingly respectful towards his seniors, aloof and correct with juniors. He has managed to stay miles away from controversy, personal and professional. No known ‘lafdas’ , not even as a teenager with raging hormones ( his lust was reserved for the willow). A noble and faithful one woman man.Last week, he even sorted out the ‘asli Marathi Manoos’ debate brilliantly by boldly declaring, “ Mumbai belongs to India.” All along, Sachin has led his life with enviable discretion bordering on boy scout conduct. Does the man have NO vices at all?? Minor ones?? Innocuous ones? Does he breathe, live and dream cricket – just cricket?? Has he ever let his hair down? Got drunk? Danced on a tabletop? Flirted with a stranger in a distant land? Cracked a dirty joke? Broken even a single, teenie weenie rule? Ever?? If the answer is ‘no’ to all the above, that makes Sachin the closest any human being has ever been to becoming Superman – the Invincible One. A God-like creature. The ultimate sacred cow.Wow!!! The halo is intact. And may it remain that way.We live in excessively cynical times. We refuse to believe there could be hi- profile celebrities out there who are genuinely ‘good’ people. We go in search of flaws and scandals, because we are looking for something to knock the idol off the pedestal. Look at what’s happening to Andre Agassi ( not in the same league, even so). The only other global sportsmen to come anywhere close to Sachin in terms of stature and reputation are Tiger Woods and Michael Schumacher. I had tweeted about conferring a Bharat Ratna on Sachin - it is the only national honour left for a man who has won the unconditional love of over a billion people. The response has been overwhelmingly in favour of the Master Blaster. Who says a recipient of the Bharat Ratna has to hit 70, 80, 90 to win the country’s highest civilian award? Sachin at 36 has hit 100. Several times over. Why not give it to Sachin while he is peaking and in a rare position to reach even greater heights in future? If we want to activate the minds of the youth of India and spur them on to achieve excellence, Sachin’s the guy to hold up as an inspiration. Superman Sachin. Only the cape is missing!!

46 comments:

He is neither an Indian nor a Mumbaikar. He exceeded that. Now he belongs to the cricketing world and as such no boundaries can bound him. He richly deserves Bharat Ratna. He is simple and great at the same time.

BHARAT RATNA- That is reserved for Ambedkars and not Tendulkars - This is a very unflattering statement to make. In addition to all the sena crap going on, we don't need this attitude in India. Not now.. not ever.

well these are obviously the few reasons why he is loved by all... being a no nonsense person has its upsides... That's Sachin's charm...that's HIM...And that's how a person should present him/herself in front of the world(unless the media get the better of them ;P ). Dignity is the one thing a person should preserve... and Sachin has done just that even after being under the scanner for 20yrs..no matter what or how the critics tried to pull him down all these years..

Yes indeed Sachin is a superman. He's the guy to hold up as an inspiration, but with all due respect I think people just idolise him, worship people like him. They rather tend to like people like Salman Khan, Rakhee sawant etc. They are the ones generating more TRP, being an idol is considered boring. It's the same as people worshiping Bhartiya naari, yet treating them so indifferently. Same with the brave soldiers defending our country, idolised as hero's, yet treated indifferently. Why does our society exhibit such double standards ??

Okay.. So Sachin has an unblemished record... what does that have to do with his recent statement? You have cleverly pushed that issue aside and only focused on Sachin's record. But the title of your article is "Mumbai Indian/ Indian Mumbaikar?" As you said "he sorted out the 'asli Marathi Manoos' debate"... don't you think he should have done this long time ago... I don't think Sachin had any such intention ... He unnecessarily got involved in this argument... A man who sells pepsi-colas to make money and lives in Bandra West (or some other plush area) and whos father fought for Marathi cause... is talking about problems faced by ordinary Marathas. I find that quite ironic !

this is the best write up from u. u have remarkably highlighted the qualities of sachin. He is really miles away from scandals, controversies etc.etc. A great son of India. He is humble, genius and 100% gentleman, responsible father,husband,son and friend. He is source of inspiration for all youngsters of his age. He is already bharat ratna in true sense without getting formal honour from Govt.of India.

mz de, looks like the God of All Things has ventured into dangerous "political" territory. his greatness is not an armour and does not render him invisible! we do not wish to see a wonderful career end with a spat with the supremo (self claimed). you know what they say, "fools rush in ....etc etc"

Madam, All yr eulogies to a 'superman' of Cricket and world, outside, are fully justified. But the 'Mubaikar' issue that coiled onto him has greater dimension than being a comparison between the eulogised one and a "tiger", political. Mumbai belongs to all Indians. It's a "Constitutional truth". But should not somebody be there to cherish Mumbai, distinctly, as it cherishes anyone and everyone? Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and many others aren't cities just offering living opportunities for any people from every nook & corner of the country. Besides, they value their own culture, tradition and distinct ways of living. They add unique colour, fragrance and flavour to life. People driven out of their lands for want of livelihood and finding it richly, elsewhere, should try to accept and appreciate the culture of the places which give them a living, rather than trying perpetuate their separateness and contaminate its cultural atmosphere! ''Indianness'' exists only as a blend of ''Marathiness'', ''Kanndaness'', ''Bengaliness'' and so on. The concept of ''India'' remains incomplete if any one of these is mistreated!

I follow your blog closely, though prefer not to comment, after reading the kind of debates and criticism that sparks off in this section. I do not consider myself to be at a stature to judge either your writing or your views. And I don't think any one should either. What you express in your blog is your view/opinion on a certain point, and why can't people just accept that? As a blogger myself, I relate to the personal objective of maintaining a blog and I completely respect yours too. Your writing inpires and it has that element of honesty, which makes me look forward to your next post. So whether it be the open letter to the marathi manoos or calling yourself a minnie mouse, it's your blog and your writing! Personally, I expect good expression and articulation in your words...not motivational speeches. And that's what inspires me! Keep writing, Ms. De....there are many more silent and supportive readers like me who read your posts and love them too :)

What is a Bharatratna compared to the love & adoration of more than 1 billion people, ma'am ?Yes, the Govt can honour itself by giving Bharatratna to such people if it wants to.The 'Bharatratna' has become a wreath as Cho says.

Shobha Mam, your writings are really great. The way you present things is very inspiring. I have read many of your blogs, and many a times, I do have opinions which are different, but your blogs really makes me thoughtful and I give a try to look at things from a new perspective.Recently, I had watched your episodes on Koffee With Karan, I liked them. I liked the way you carry yourself.

Sachin deserves all praise. He was a child prodigy when he faced Waqar younis and Imran khan at the age of 16. He is still a humble child at heart.

He must get Bharat Ratna for his cricketing abilities. But the other two who deserve Bharat ratna before him are Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev. These two excelled when there was hardly any support from other 9 players in the team.

As far as the international popularity of Sachin Tendulkar is concerned I think he can go unnoticed for weeks even in cricket playing countries like England, Australia and South Africa.

The press of UK and Australia ignore Sachin's achievements most of the time. So one can forget about his popularity in non cricket playing nations. While the Indian media does not have time for any other sport other than cricket.

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Nice post. I'll only digress with you on your comment about Michael Schumacher. Probably one of the greatest drivers to grace Formula 1 but also one of the biggest (confirmed) cheats and poorest sports ever. Tiger Woods is exemplary and so is Michael Jordan, but not Schumacher

A whole epic can be written in Sachin's praise. He is truly a man of substance...kudos Scahinji. I salute you. Yups Bharat Ratna must be bestowed on HIM ASAP...plus something new can be started in his name like an award, stamp, train, flight, etc. Or EVERYTHING!!!!

I am huge admirer of Sachin myself. However, I do feel that looking up to a particular person, or hero worshiping a person, is never a good idea. Be it Sachin, or anyone else. What one must do, is worship the qualities that make that person what he/she is. So that, even when that "near-perfect human" errs, people are not heart broken , they dont lose hope in good-ness.(just a thought, not completely relevant to the post) :)

awesome ..simply awesome article on SACHIN.THANKS a LOT for that...:):)..100 % agreed to ur view on him...SACHIN truely deserves these praise & BHARAT RATNA...not only for his image & stature ..but also for his SEVERAL DEEDS/CHARITIES for the ORPHAN CHILDREN of APANALAYA & different places...

It's truely an WONDERFUL side of SACHIN's character...that's why HE IS GREAT..as a SPORTSMAN & beyond his SPORTSMANSHIP as a PERSON too..& for his DEEDS to this country & it's people...

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